The Geneseo High School varsity boys’ basketball team had a rough week on the basketball court as the Leafs dropped all three of their latest contests.

Geneseo vs. Sycamore

Visiting Sycamore jumped out to a commanding lead and never looked back as the Spartans notched a 58-30 win over host Geneseo Feb. 14.

“We beat Sycamore earlier in the season, but they just played better than us and worked harder than us,” said head coach Dave Martin. “We just didn’t play has hard as we needed to.”

Sycamore took the early 17-7 lead in the first quarter and held Geneseo to only five points in the second to take a 29-12 advantage into the half. The Spartans scored 12 points in the second quarter.

It was a low scoring third quarter for both squads, but the Leafs were still unable to gain any ground on the Spartans. Sycamore scored nine points in the third to Geneseo’s eight for a 38-20 score.

Sycamore capped off the night as the team netted 20 points in the fourth quarter, while Geneseo reached double digits for the first time with 10 points for the 58-30 final.

Jordan Starkey led the way for Geneseo with 12 points as he drained 3-of-3 from the free-throw line, a three pointer and three field goals.

Alec Cheek and JJ Rivera both chipped in four points to the effort, each hit two shots from the field, while Landon Hoon and Luke Snyder added three points apiece — Hoon on a field goal and a free throw and Snyder as he drained a shot from beyond the arc.

Nathan Yager and Austin?Frank contributed two points apiece to the effort, both off one field goal each.

Geneseo vs. Ottawa

Trailing with under 3 minutes left, the Ottawa Pirates battled back and edged out visiting Geneseo, 36-32 in NIB?12 action Feb. 11.

“I thought we dominated the game and played harder than they did,” said Martin. “Ottawa just made the shots late in the game. It was a close game, we just didn’t quite win it.”

Ottawa led 10-6 at the start of the contest and carried a one-point advantage into the half, 16-15.

Geneseo gained control of the game after the break, 27-23 as the Leafs knocked down 12 points and held Ottawa to seven in the third quarter. The Pirates surged back in the fourth quarter to outscore the Leafs, 13-5 to steal the victory.

Leading the Leafs was Landon Hoon with 16 points, draining eight shots from the field.

Alec Cheek netted six points off two field goals and two free throws, while Luke Snyder and Ethan Radue both scored four points with a field goal and two free throws apiece. Jordan Starkey finished the game with two points on a field goal.

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Geneseo vs. Streator

In NIB 12 Conference action Feb. 10, the Leafs couldn’t seem to stop Streator standout JJ Cravatta (30 points with four three pointers) as he led the Bulldogs to a 54-40 win over Geneseo.

“I thought we did a good job in the first three quarters of holding Cravatta down, but he ended up scoring 16 in the fourth,” said Martin. “Alec Cheek guarded him through three quarters and did a nice job, but in the fourth quarter we had to extend our defense and were not matched up the way we wanted to be.”

Streator opened with the 8-4 lead in the first quarter and extended its advantage to six at the half, 18-12. The Bulldogs scored 10 points in the second quarter to the Leafs’ eight.

After the break, Streator posted 11 more points, while Geneseo scored another eight for a 29-20 score. The Bulldogs put up 25 points in the fourth quarter to seal the victory, while Geneseo knocked down 20 points of its own.

Starkey led the offensive effort for Geneseo as he netted a team-high 13 points off six shots from the field and a free throw.

“Jordan has really developed into the what I thought he could be,” said Martin. “And Landon is continuing to lead by how hard he plays. Our junior guys are still coming along.”

Hoon chipped in eight points as he drained two shots from beyond the arc and two free throws, while Cheek and JJ?Rivera both scored six points — Cheek hit three field goals and Rivera went 2-for-4 from the line and also had two field goals.

Snyder added four points on a field goal and two free throws, followed by Drew?DeCap with three points as he knocked down a three pointer.

The Leafs (5-16 overall and 2-6 in the NIB?12) will be on the road tonight against LaSalle-Peru at 7:30 p.m.

“L-P is going to be the same as any conference game, it is going to be physical where we will have to grind out points and play smart,” said Martin.